my wort is at 71f, it has been 16 hours and its not bubbling yet, is that? is the temp too cold? is my yest dead? i pitched it at 84f it is white labs german ale

thanks for the help buddies! :-)

Did you make a starter? If not, then 16 hours isn't that long, truth be told... it can take 48 hours or longer depending on a range of conditions...

How did you aerate the wort? Low oxygen content can also lead to long lag times... combine that with no starter and 48 hours or even longer in some cases isn't out of the question by any means... I had an early brew go 3 days before it really got going due to just those reasons... this combination can also lead to major ester production and strange flavors, my porter came out with LOADS of banana flavor that took 4 months to age out!!!

Also, pitching the yeast and then allowing the wort to cool further can cause the yeast to crash out, at least temporarily... your best bet is to always get the wort temp stabilized before you pitch... and the yeast temp should be equal to, or cooler than, the wort temp to help prevent crashing out the yeast...

I wouldn't start to worry for another 24 hours anyway... gently swirl the carboy to help keep the yeast in suspension and once it has enough time to stabilize and get back on its feet, it will make beer

For the future think about making 2 L starters, better aeration techniques and letting the wort cool fully before pitching and you should be able to get your lag time down to about 1 hour total

HTH,
mikey

__________________Mykel Obvious - Head Bottle Washer What Is In Charge Of Caps for Old Coyote's Bad Mojo Biohazard Brewery"I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer."Brendan Behan

Yeast should be pitched as soon as possible, but with the method you are using, it would probably be better to wait the 12 hours... cooling the pitched wort can lead to the yeast thinking it is time to stop working... (maybe someone else could chime in here and make sure that is the best way in this case??)

Are you fermenting in a plastic bucket or a glass carboy??

If you are placing your primary in a bucket of water and covering it with a wet towel, then freeze some 2 liter bottles and add those to the water to help get it to cool down faster... the quicker you can cool it the better for the beer... if you are using a carboy, then cover the mouth with sanitized aluminum foil until the temperature is stable at around 70-72 F, then pitch your yeast and install your airlock... that will help prevent air sucking back through the airlock... the foil is safe, because bacteria can't climb... Louis Pasteur proved that:

Quote:

The experimental design that clinched the argument was the use of the swan-neck flask. In this experiment, fermentable juice was placed in a flask and after sterilization the neck was heated and drawn out as a thin tube taking a gentle downward then upward arc -- resembling the neck of a swan (Fig 4). The end of the neck was then sealed. As long as it was sealed, the contents remained unchanged. If the flask was opened by nipping off the end of the neck, air entered but dust was trapped on the walls of the neck. Under this condition, the fluid would remain forever sterile, showing that air alone could not trigger growth of microorganisms. If, however, the flask was tipped to allow the sterile liquid to touch the contaminated walls and this liquid was then returned to the broth, growth of microorganisms immediately began.The long "swan-like" neck is open to air, but dust and air-borne microbes cannot reach the liquid. Some of Pasteur's preparations are at the Pasteur Institute, Paris where they continue to remain sterile for more than 100 years.

I would also look into getting at least a filtered air pump like this one as soon as you can afford one:http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=16607
that will help make sure you get enough aeration in your beer and help make stronger yeast and reduce your lag times

The bubbles are a good sign... it means that it IS fermenting, just very slowly for now... in a day or so it will begin to take off like normal and you will have beer!! The next trick is making sure you wait long enough after you bottle it for it to reach full carbonation (it took me about 10 batches before I learned to not try the first bottle in less than a week LOL)

__________________Mykel Obvious - Head Bottle Washer What Is In Charge Of Caps for Old Coyote's Bad Mojo Biohazard Brewery"I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer."Brendan Behan

hi buddy! thanks a lot for the great information, it is bubbling like once every 10 seconds now!! :-)

it is steady at 71f and bubbling away, i hope this batch turns out good, i have yet to taste a batch of home brew lol! but this one sure smells good and the o.g. was 1.083 and the thing said it'll end up 11% alcohol... double bock... but i dumped in some extra hops... more than was called for in the recipe... but i love hops! :-)